Song of Solomon 5:8

She cannot hide the great longing of her heart, and she does not even wait for the usual greetings. We sometimes say, "I am sick of this," meaning that we have had enough of it. That is not the meaning here. Her affections for Him and her desire to be near Him are stirred to such a point that it makes her sick that she cannot reach Him and does not know where to find Him. She has no taste for anything else any more; nothing can satisfy now but Himself.

She had more to learn about herself. Whatever she was in His eyes, He was — sad to say — not everything to her. The very fullest assurance of the Saviour's love tends to make our hearts careless. When we are only assured that we are precious to Him, if we know Him at all, we are earnest and pressing. But when His matchless grace to us is fully out in the open, how quickly the flesh creeps in and takes advantage of it, as if it were all a matter of course... She gave in to laziness and circumstances. She truly loved Him, yet she made difficulties and treated His love lightly. Then she found, to her shame and sorrow, that He had withdrawn Himself — He was gone!

This, however, was the way love was taking to awaken her affections. The bride would not answer when he drew near, so now he withdraws — and only to stir up her affections by his absence... At first the Beloved was the seeker. He found no response from the bride, so his love takes another way. Now the bride is the seeker — and she finds no response from the Bridegroom. Had the love of the Bridegroom changed then? Had he given up his bride? No — it was not the love, but the way of expressing the love, that had changed. The bride must learn that closeness in love is easily lost, and only humbling experiences bring it back.

Her longing for restoration, expressed like this, is deeply touching. Still, it is sad to see her. She had enjoyed the closeness of His affections, and now she must ask women who had never been in her special place where to find her Beloved. They had never been, as she had, the objects of His tenderness. They were strangers to the sorrow that now filled her soul, so they could not understand the intensity of her feelings. She was like Mary, who thought others had taken her Lord away and did not know where they had laid Him: she had lost everything. If He were lost, the world was only a vast wilderness — a grave. Happy is the soul that knows something of this blessed experience!

Do we not learn a very practical truth here? Nothing creates a desire for Christ in others so effectively as seeing a soul whose heart is on fire for Him. This is a most important truth. It matters for those who preach the gospel, for anyone who wants to lead others to Christ, for Sunday School teachers, and for parents who long to see their children saved. It will not do simply to speak to them from time to time; they must see that Christ is everything to you.

She is out of communion, and everything is in confusion. The very energy and warmth of her love bring her into all kinds of trouble... Everything is out of place for the moment as far as her ways go, but her heart is right in the main, and true to her Lord... How few of us could say, "I am sick of love." How seldom does our love burn hot enough to bring persecution on us!